Jerusalem: a holy city for three religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

In the year 2001 I was taking Hebrew classes in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM[1]) in one of my classes we were told that we were going to be visited by Sergio Berlioz. Sergio Berlioz is a Mexican Jew living in Mexico City. He is famous for his talent in music. When he visited us he did not talk about music but his experience as a Jew and the Frank Kafka works. As part of his presentation, he explained to us that Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I was a little confused but then I started to study about it and the topic has been really interesting to me.

For the Jews, Jerusalem has been the holiest city since, according to the Torah, King David of Israel first established it as the capital of the united kingdom of Israel in c. 1000 B.C., and his son Solomon commissioned the building of the first temple in the city.

For Christians, Jerusalem has been a holy city since, according to the New Testament; Jesus was crucified in 30 A.D.

In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third holiest city. It became the first Qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (Salah) in 610 A.D and, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later.

Deities, Scriptures and Prayers (Rituals)

Gods

The God of the Jews has a proper name, written YHWH, in Rabbinical Judaism vocalized as Hebrew: Modern Yehova. The name YHWH literally means "The Existent One" and relates to God as God truly is, God's essence, which transcends the universe, it also represents God's compassion towards the world.

For Christians God is understood by as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; a single infinite being who is both within and beyond nature. Less commonly, non-Trinitarian theologies exist in various denominations which define the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as separate beings.

For the Muslims God is Allah is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, controller, and judge of the universe. Islam points out the conceptualization of God as strictly singular God is unique. Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of mercy for which all creatures including humans should praise Allah. According to the Islamic teachings, God does not exist in a single space. The Qur’an explains it in these words: "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. God is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things"[2]

The main similarity that I found is that the three religions share the same God. They call him with different names but is the same God that created the earth, created Adam and spoke to Abraham. The difference is that “their God” has elected and can save their particular group of people that belong to their specific religion. So, Yehova cares for the Jews, The father of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ cares for the Christian and Allah cares for the Muslims.

Scriptures

For the Jews “The Hebrew Bible” includes:The Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, forming the covenant between God and the Jewish people. They also use the Talmud which is an abridgment of the rabbinic discussions about the Hebrew bible plus other topics of Jew ethic , philosophy and history.

The Christians also believe in the Hebrew Bible but call it the Old Testament. This, plus the “New Testament” which is an account of the birth, life and ministry of Jesus Christ and his apostles constitutes the Christian Scriptures.

For the Islamic religion, the sacred book is called “The Qur’an”. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad by Allah verbally through the archangel Gabriel over a period of approximately twenty-three years, beginning in 610 A.D, when he was forty, and concluding in 632 A.D. the year when he passed away. This book was written after the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. The Qur’an mentions that those two books are true and given by God through revelation as well. All the main prophets of the Judaism and Christianity (including Jesus) are mentioned in the Qur’an. So, in a way the Qur’an claims to be a continuation of the prior two books and the final one.

The main similarity is that all these sacred book speak about God and his dealings with the same prophets: Adam, Noah, Enoch, etc. The main difference is that Each new book are used as the foundation for a new religion. The New Testament is the foundation for Christianity, (Jews only kept the Old testament) The Qur’an is the foundation for Islam (Christian only kept the New Testament). Christians, with exception, generally agree that the Torah is the original work of Moses but has been modified in translation, transliteration or transcription to include more recent names of places and similar insubstantial alterations.

The Qur'an contains many references to people and events that are mentioned in the Bible; that Jesus was given the gospel from the Abrahamic God. Traditionally, Muslims have believed that parts of these teachings were eventually lost or distorted to produce what are now the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.

Prayers (Rituals)

In Judaism, Jews recite prayers three times daily (upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, and at night), with a fourth prayer added on Shabbat and holidays. A very important key prayer in some worshiping services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Israel (or Shema). The Shema is the

recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"

Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited individually, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires at least a group of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well.In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts.

Christians on the other hand don’t have a standard prayer schedule. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that prayer should not be a repetition of standard prayers. With time however mainly the Catholic churches adopted standard prayers. All other churches offer prayers based on their feelings and need at the moment.

For the Muslims the Salah is the standard way of prayer. Salah is the practice of formal prayer. Its supreme importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Shi'a Islam. Salah is a ritual prayer. Performing salah is obligatory for all adult Muslims, with a few dispensations for those for whom it would be difficult. To perform valid salah, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, which is mainly achieved by ritual ablution according to prescribed procedures.

Salah consists of the repetition of two or more units of a prescribed sequence of actions and words. The prescribed words of the prayer remain obligatory.

The main similarity I found is that prayers are performed to thank the blessings and to request other blessings. The difference is that while Judaism and Islam have standard prayers, Christianity leaves the door open to express our feelings.

Origin and contemporary expression.

God promised Abraham that out of his seed he will raise a power nation. Jews believe that they are that people. Judaism also claims that they are the direct heirs of the religion and people guided by Moses. The Israelites were living as a slave people in Egypt. They (as the covenant people) were rescued by God through his prophet Moses.

Since then they have kept the law of Moses and studied the Hebrew Bible. Throughout the ages the Jews have been scattered and enslaved so many times that in reality we can say it is a miracle they have kept their identity. In our time they have achieve (with the help of the Christian nations) to recover their promised land and have a powerful nation there. They are living also on almost every nation and as a group they are very united and help each other. They are not very numerous and only represent the 0.22 % of the population of the world[3].

Christianity on the other hand was born with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a Jew. And his preaching was directed to the Jews. The Jews are expecting for a Messiah. The Jews that did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah kept and still are waiting for the promised Messiah. The Jews that believed in Jesus Christ as the Messiah were the first Christians (although the term Christian was not used until some centuries later). As a new religion, Christianity was persecuted by other especially by the Roman empire. It wasn’t until Constantine who was the first Roman emperor that converted into Christianity allowed and promote the spreading of Christianity. In February 313, Constantine developed the Edict of Milan. The edict stated that Christians should be allowed to follow the faith of their choosing. With an estimated number of adherents that ranges approximately around 2.2 billion, split into 3 main branches of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox, Christianity is the world's largest religion [4] and represents the 33% of the population of the world.

The Islam was born with Mouhmmad. Muhammad was Born in 570 in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at when he was very young was brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. Later on he worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, when he was 25 years old he got married. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him is the only way acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia before he and his remaining followers in Mecca migrated to Medina in the year 622. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam.

Nowadays Islam represents the 21% of the entire population of the world.

The following chart show more information about the comparison of these three religions[5].

History & Stats	Christianity	Islam	Judaism
date founded	c. 30 AD	622 CE	c. 1300 BC
place founded	Palestine	Arabian Peninsula	Palestine
founders & early leaders	Jesus, Peter, Paul	Muhammad	Abraham, Moses
original languages	Aramaic and Greek	Arabic	Hebrew
major location today	Europe, North and South America	Middle East, Southeast Asia	Europe, Israel, North America
adherents worldwide today	2 billion	1.3 billion	14 million
adherents in USA	159 million	1.1 million	5.6 million
adherents in Canada	21 million	500,000	350,000
adherents in UK	51 million	1.6 million	320,000
current size rank	largest in the world	second largest in the world	12th largest
major branches	Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant	Sunni, Shiite	Orthodox, Conservative, Reform
Religious Authority	Christianity	Islam	Judaism
sacred text	Bible = Old Testament (Jewish Bible) + New Testament	Qur'an (Koran)	Tanakh (Jewish Bible)
inspiration of sacred text	views vary: literal Word of God, inspired human accounts, or of human origin only	literal Word of God	views vary: inspired human accounts or of human origin only
status of biblical prophets	true prophets	true prophets	true prophets
status of Jewish Bible	canonical	noncanonical but useful as a (corrupted) inspired text	Canonical
status of Jewish Apocrypha	canonical (Catholic); useful but noncanonical (Protestant)	noncanonical	noncanonical but useful
status of New Testament	canonical	noncanonical but useful as a (corrupted) inspired text	noncanonical, not useful
summaries of doctrine	Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed	Six Articles of Faith	Talmud, halakhah
religious law	canon law (Catholics)	Sharia	Rabbis
other written authority	church fathers, church councils, ecumenical creeds (all branches); papal decrees, canon law (Catholics)	Hadith	13 Articles of Faith
Beliefs & Doctrine	Christianity	Islam	Judaism
ultimate reality	one creator God	one creator God	one God, Jehovah, the God of Abraham
nature of God	Trinity - one substance, three persons	unity - one substance, one person	unity - one substance, one person
other spiritual beings	angels and demons	angels, demons, jinn	angels and demons
revered humans	saints, church fathers	prophets, imams (especially in Shia Islam)	Prophets
identity of Jesus	Son of God, God incarnate, savior of the world	true prophet of God, whose message has been corrupted	false prophet
birth of Jesus	virgin birth	virgin birth	normal birth
death of Jesus	death by crucifixion	did not die, but ascended bodily into heaven (a disciple died in his place)	death by crucifixion
resurrection of Jesus	affirmed	denied, since he did not die	Denied
second coming of Jesus	affirmed	affirmed	Denied
mode of divine revelation	through Prophets and Jesus (as God Himself), recorded in Bible	through Muhammad, recorded in Qur'an	through Prophets, recorded in Bible
human nature	"original sin" inherited from Adam - tendency towards evil	equal ability to do good or evil	two equal impulses, one good and one bad
means of salvation	correct belief, faith, good deeds, sacraments (some Protestants emphasize faith alone)	correct belief, good deeds, Five Pillars	belief in God, good deeds
God's role in salvation	predestination, various forms of grace	predestination	divine revelation and forgiveness
good afterlife	eternal heaven	eternal paradise	views vary: either heaven or no afterlife
bad afterlife	eternal hell, temporary purgatory (Catholicism)	eternal hell	views vary: either eternal Gehenna, reincarnation, or no afterlife
view of the other religion	Islam is respected as a fellow monotheistic religion, but Muhammad is not seen as a true prophet	Christians are respected as "People of the Book," but they have mistaken beliefs and only partial revelation	Christianity is a false interpretation of Judaism.
Rituals & Practices	Christianity	Islam	Judaism
house of worship	church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, meeting hall	mosque	synagogue, temple, schul
day of worship	Sunday	Friday	rabbi, rebbe
religious leaders	priest, bishop, archbishop, patriarch, pope, pastor, minister, preacher, deacon	imams	mitzvot (commandments)
major sacred rituals	baptism, communion (Eucharist)	Five Pillars: prayer, pilgrimage, charity, fasting, confession of faith	observing Sabbath, wearing tallit and tefilin, prayer services
head covered during prayer?	generally no	yes	generally yes (especially men)
central religious holy days	Lent, Holy Week, Easter	Eid-al-Fitr, Eid-al-Adha, month of Ramadan	Yom Kippur, Days of Awe, Passover
other holidays	Christmas, saints days	Mawlid, Ashura	Chanukah, Purim
major symbols	cross, crucifix, dove, anchor, fish, alpha and omega, chi rho, halo	crescent, name of Allah in Arabic	Star of David, chai, hamsa, tree

3 interviews :

Jew: (I was trying to get an interview with Sergio Berlioz but I couldn’t) So I interview one of his students. Esther Wade. Mexican 28 years old. Active Jew. Residence in Mexico City. Graduate student.

Were you born in this religion? Yes

Why did you convert or decided to stay in that religion? I never decided it is just a given that once you are born Jew you stay Jew

Have you been active participant? Yes, with the exception of one year that my family was going through some financial problems, we needed to work more.

What are your feelings for the scriptures? I Love the Torah, my family used to read it very often, now that I live on my own I don’t read it but I plan to read it with my kids when I get married.

Have you participated in Prayers? Yes

How your life has change for those prayers? Not much, I think that your life change when you live what you are taught. Praying is just a way to give thanks.

What are your feelings about the other two religions?I know a lot of christians and we do business with them. I personally don’t trust them they are only looking for the money and don’t care to be dishonest.

Do you accept that the other two religion share the same god.? I do.

Some word of advice to the other two religions? Follow your Bible and you will be good people.

Christian: Juan Garcia. Age 34. Married.Catholic. Never attended college. Reside in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Were you born in this religion? Yes

Why did you convert or decided to stay in that religion? When I got married we decided we will never change religions.

Have you been active participant? Not really

What are your feelings for the scriptures? I have never read them

Have you participated in prayers? When I was a with my mother.

How your life has change for those prayers? I realized I was Catholic

What are your feelings about the other two religions? I don’t know any Jew but I have heard they are good doing business. About the Muslims I have heard don’t like the USA.

DO you accept that the other two religion share the same god.? I did not know that

Some word of advice to the other two religions? No

Muslim. I interview a lady that I found at the library. She was very reluctant to talk to me so I had a female friend to asked her the question she did not respond all of the questions. She was in her mid-thirties. Residence Salt Lake city, Utah

Were you born in this religion? Yes

Why did you convert or decided to stay in that religion? Why change? All my family is muslim.

Have you been active participant? Yes

What are your feelings for the scriptures? They are Allah’s word

Then she left.

In conclusion I learnt that these three religions are more related than I thought. You can even say that they were built upon each other. Judaism, then Christianity and then Islam. I think that they don’t understand each other and they isolate themselves from the other religions. Christians in general know very little about their own religion. Jews know their religion better and Muslims are more closed. This is the perspective that this paper left me. I hope I keep learning more about them.

Bibliography:

Van Voorst by Robert E., Anthology of World Scriptures, seventh edition.

Livingston James C. Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion (6th Edition)

Bowker John, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Religions

Clark Marcolm, Islam for dummies.

Falcon Ted & Blatner David, Judaism for dummies.

[1] www.unam.mx

[2] Qur'an 6:103

[3] http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

[4] http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

[5] http://www.religionfacts.com/